The first images of the James-Webb space telescope unveiled

In images, in picturesThe American (NASA), European (ESA) and Canadian (ASC) space agencies unveiled on Tuesday the first images taken by the largest space telescope, the James-Webb (JWST), launched in December 2021 by an Ariane-5 rocket. .

Image of the deep field of the Universe taken by the James-Webb telescope, unveiled on July 11 at the White House by President Joe Biden. SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUT / NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI, WEBB ERO PRODUCTION TEAM

US President Joe Biden broke the agreement reached with the European and Canadian space agencies by advancing the presentation, Monday, July 11, from the White House, of the first image obtained from NASA’s James-Webb space telescope. We see an impressive cloud of multicolored light spots on a black background. They are hundreds, even thousands of galaxies, concentrated in a very small portion of the sky, equivalent to the size of a grain of sand at the end of an arm.

Stephan’s Quintet shows five galaxies, two of which are merging. NASA / ESA / ASC

Located about 290 million light-years away, in the constellation Pegasus, it is the first group of compact galaxies ever discovered – first observed in 1878 by Frenchman Edouard Stéphan. These galaxies are bound to collide and merge.

Two images of the Southern Ring Nebula in two infrared ranges. NASA / ESA / ASC

The target region is also known as the “Eight Shards Nebula”. Located about 2,000 light-years from Earth, it looks like a big eye, as big as half a light-year. It is the result of the expansion of an ionized and hot gas after the explosion of a star in its center. This ejected material, which forms like a shell, will cool, condense and perhaps give birth to a new star.

Image of a spectrogram showing the presence of water in gaseous form in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. NASA / ESA / ASC

This is the most detailed spectrum ever obtained, allowing the composition of its atmosphere to be assessed. WASP-96b, located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter.

The Carina Nebula (NGC 3324), a star nursery, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared camera. NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI, WEBB ERO PRODUCTION TEAM

The Carina Nebula is located in the Southern Hemisphere sky 7,600 light-years from Earth. Hundreds of new stars appear, previously hidden by dust. The material appears more textured. And always in the background, new galaxies.